Valentine’s Day – Shaken Not Stirred in LA

southbay3 — February day at the South Bay Botanic Garden

Yesterday, I was contracted to help my associate bartender, Mia Martini bartend a Valentine’s Day wedding on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I have a lot of history in the area and worked for years at the former Frascati Ristorante, and Le Rive Gauche. The wedding was held at the South Bay Botanic Garden, which is a beautiful venue to hold an outdoor wedding. The weather was perfect, and it is certainly a risk to plan a wedding in February during El Nino.

Over 200 guests attended the wedding, and we served Moscow Mules, Kentucky Mules, Margaritas, and of course beer and wine. These Mule cocktails are very popular right now and are easy to make, especially for a crowd of 200 people. Many brides and groom want to have elaborate specialty drinks for their weddings, but some craft cocktails simply take too much time to make, and hold up the line. I can do Mojitos in bulk when I have to, but that is not really the proper way to do them.

southbay2 — Large crowd at Valentine’s Day Wedding

We got hit with the initial wave of people just after the ceremony, but the night went very smoothly. My friend and associate, Mia is very organized and detail oriented, so that always helps make things go smoothly. She purchased 300 pounds of ice for the party, which we concerned wouldn’t last in the beginning, because it was so warm. After the sun went down, it cooled way down and we ended up dumping 60 pounds of ice. That will water the trees there.

Valentine’s Day Wedding

Makes remembering anniversaries easier
Combine anniversary and Valentine’s Day gifts
Friends and relatives get out of paying for dinner
Great hearts theme for wedding
Divorce proof
Bride and Groom share first dance at Valentine’s Day Wedding

I want to mention some new work shoes I purchased. The last pair of work shoes I bought from Sears barely lasted six months. I literally only wore them twenty times before they started falling apart. I took them back to Sears, and they said, “tough luck.” I went to Sketchers and they have a line of shoes, specifically designed for service work. I bought a pair of shoes that are made from a synthetic material, which I was reluctant to buy. I must say these are the most comfortable work shoes I have ever bought. I was on my feet for eight hours and the shoes were great.

I have two weddings back to back in Palm Springs coming up, which I am working with the hosts to plan. I still have the 20^th open and am looking for an event on that date. I will travel anywhere in Southern California. Also, the Academy Awards will be held on February 28^th, and I am available for that dates, if anybody is planning an Academy Awards party.

Saturday was Valentine’s Day and Shaken Not Stirred provided bartending service and servers for a wedding in West Hills. This was my first time bartending an Ethiopian wedding, and it was quite an incredible experience. This is what I love about doing event bartending. I am exposed to so many different cultural customs and traditions at landmark events in people’s lives. I have bartended at Mexican weddings, Armenian Christenings, Qinceaneras, Vietnamese engagement parties, Persian weddings, traditional Jewish weddings, military weddings, and all kinds of birthday parties.

This Valentine’s Day wedding was held at a house in West Hills, on the far North west edge of the San Fernando Valley that overlooks the entire valley. The weather could not have been nicer. When you are planning weddings in Southern California, the odds are pretty good that there is a ninety percent chance of no rain. This particular house is available for weddings and other events, and I did not get the name of it, but it was an incredible venue.

I brought two servers with me and three of us were busy the entire time. I had spoken with the bride several times leading up to the event and I helped her plan a shopping menu. Unfortunately, we had plenty of alcohol, but everybody seemed to only want one choice – Grey Goose. We ran out of Grey Goose vodka two hours into the reception and I sent one of my girls out to buy more. Then a couple hours later we ran out again! I left the reception leaving the girls to hold down the fort and went and bought more. I am not a big believer in Grey Goose and think that it is way overpriced, but it was what the hosts wanted.

We served the champagne toast and we helped serve the wedding cake and then the party started winding down. I am bartending a 60^th birthday party in Northridge on the 28^th and am still available for the 21^st, so who knows where that will take me. In March I have three events in Palm Springs, all on weekdays, so I still have three Saturdays open. The final Saturday of March I have a big wedding in Santa Ynez, where I will provide bartending service. And winter is almost over.

Tag: Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day Wedding in Palos Verdes

Valentine’s Day Wedding

Valentine’s Day Wedding in West Hills